By KPLC Team
In Kiabiraa, a village located in Kitutu Masaba of Nyamira County, life unfolds in a pulse of easiness.
The area, which is part of the famous Manga Escarpment, is a scene to behold.
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The area has public amenities including schools, churches and a fairly modest road network.
Residents go about their daily routines, including tending to crops and caring for livestock, while others excavate and crush rocks for sale as construction materials.
Unknown to most of them is the treasure a resource that most of them assume to be rocks.
In recent months, there has been a roar that broke the serenity as strangers descended upon the village, armed with heavy equipment.
As they scoop the earth, the miners excavate glimmers of a valuable mineral known as kaolin, a rock from which the clay mineral, kaolinite– is derived.
Recently, the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs suspended the mining activities in the area.
The government also wants “all the operators who have been mining and dealing in kaolin in the area to declare their production and the quantities” of the resource within two weeks.
A communication from the Regional Mining Office based in Migori indicates that the extraction of the mineral has been ongoing without meeting set conditions.
Regional Mining Officer, Joshua Boiwo has invoked Section 10 of the Mining Act CAP 306 which states that, ‘‘A person shall not search for, prospect or mine any mineral, mineral deposit or tailing in Kenya unless that person has been granted a permit or license in accordance this Act.’’
Section 42 of the Act states that a mineral right may be granted subject to meeting conditions as may be determined by the Cabinet Secretary.
“The conditions include the protection of the environment, safety of prospecting and mining operations, as well as health and safety of persons undertaking those operations,” Boiwo said.
He noted that the current workings were not safe and posed the risk of collapse of the hanging walls, endangering the mining operators and the community members.
Due to the foregoing, the miners were “ordered to immediately stop all the kaolin mining operations until such a time when the provisions of the Mining Act CAP 306 are fully adhered to.”
Investigations show that most residents and onlookers assume the extractions to be useful for the construction of roads and houses.
Excavators have been roaring in the area for several months as the extracted resource gets transported to unknown destinations.
A resident who declined to divulge his name said buyers pay as little as Ksh10,000 for a tipper truck loaded with the mineral.
“Owing to the activities, huge depressions have emerged in the area, with some rocks dangerously hanging over others,” said Denis Maubi, a resident.
Maubi said the mining is done without taking into consideration environmental safety standards.
“I’m afraid this is a disaster in waiting. I suspect that some people are making a kill out of this activity at the disadvantage of residents,” he said.
The Nyamira County Government operates a revenue collection point near the site, where it collects revenue from the truck drivers per trip.
However, last year, the regional government sought the intervention of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), arguing the mining activities were a source of pollution and the site was not properly fenced posing a safety risk to road users.
NEMA Director General, Mamo Mamo was quoted as saying that, “the nature of quarrying had left gaping pits that filled with rain water that can cause disastrous flooding effects downstream.”
Encyclopedia Britannica describes kaolin as, a soft white clay that is an essential ingredient in the manufacture of china and porcelain and is widely used in the making of paper, rubber, paint, and many other products.
Other sources say kaolin is used in the making of some pharmaceutical products.
The mineral is named after Kao-ling Hill in China from which it was mined for centuries.
-Part of this story was first published in People Daily
